Sonoma County teen builds outdoor agility equipment for Santa Rosa shelter dogs

The dogs at Sonoma County Animal Shelter have a new way to get some outdoor exercise thanks to a local teen.

Recent Rancho Cotate High School grad and longtime Boy Scout Logan Zumstein, 17, spent over a year creating outdoor agility equipment for the dogs at the Santa Rosa shelter as part of his Eagle Scout Service Project required to advance to the highest rank of the 114-year-old youth program.

The project required to become an Eagle Scout must “demonstrate leadership of others while performing a project for the benefit of their community,” according to the Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project Workbook.

“I wanted to do something to help the animals not be trapped up in cages,” said Zumstein, who has been in scouting since the third grade.

The project came to Zumstein’s attention from Sherrill Dunning-Riley, a board member of the nonprofit Friends of Sonoma County Animal Shelter, which works to support the animals in the shelter operated by the Sonoma County Animal Services, part of the Department of Health Services.

“The dog agility equipment we had was kind of old and falling apart,” Dunning-Riley said. “I said, ‘You know what, I need to find some Boy Scouts.’”

Dunning-Riley reached out to Zumstein’s dad, Kevin, a former co-worker, who she knew was a scoutmaster. He told her he knew just the scout for the job.

Zumstein got to work researching agility equipment blueprints online and designing the ramp, steps, hoop and agility A-frame based on that research, pricing out and purchasing the materials, and leading a team of scouts from Santa Rosa’s Troop 32, some as young as 12, in building the equipment over several work days at a troop leader’s warehouse property.

On July 21, the troop trucked the equipment to the shelter, assembled the pieces and gave the dogs their first chance to run the course, which is set up similar to an obstacle course at a dog show agility competition.

The equipment was donated at a time when the shelter is at maximum capacity, according to shelter supervisor Emma Diemert.

“We’re at the point where we’re doubling up, having dogs on each side of our kennels,” Diemert said. “We have so many dogs that need quality enrichment. So it’s nice to have them get some outside time.”

In addition to learning construction skills, Zumstein gained leadership skills through the project.

“Logan was fantastic, he directed everyone on where they needed to go or what needed improvement,” Diemert said. “It was cool to see them work together.”

Diemert added that Zumstein painted the equipment yellow and blue, the two colors that dogs can see.

Once the equipment was installed, shelter dogs Ralphie, a husky, and Pie, a pitbull-boxer mix, took turns navigating the obstacles for the crowd. The scouts also cleared brush and raked chips at the shelter yard and played with puppies inside the shelter.

“It was a super fun afternoon,” Diemert said.

Now that the equipment is in place, Zumstein has paperwork to complete to become an Eagle Scout. After that, he will attend Santa Rosa Junior College in the fall and study aviation in hopes of becoming a commercial airline pilot.